POLICE have issued a warning after prescription drugs went missing in the Weaverham area on Wednesday.

The drugs, 14 tablets of zopiclone, could lead to unconsciousness and also pose a danger to children who mistake them for sweets.

Zopiclone is prescribed to help people with sleeping problems and works by depressing the central nervous system. Police are warning that if the drug is taken in dosages that are not the prescribed amount people may experience severe drowsiness, confusion, a lack of co-ordination and may even lose consciousness.

The 7.5mg tablets were in a white prescription chemist's bag. A police spokesman said: 'They could pose a danger if they are unwittingly taken by young children thinking that they are sweets of some sort or if they are taken in a dosage above and beyond that which was prescribed for the individual.

'We are asking anyone who does find these tablets which have been mislaid in the Weaverham to take them to their nearest police station or hand them in at any chemist or doctor's surgery.'